New coach, promising future for Midland Park team

By ron fox

FOR SUBURBAN NEWS |

Midland Park Suburban News

MIDLAND PARK — A new coach, only two starters returning and one key player out with an injury. Those are ingredients that could leave a team destined for a slow start. That mixture might even provide a viable explanation for Midland Park's 1-3 start in boys basketball. But then again, maybe not.

Freshman coach Matt Kingsley was hired to replace Matt Arroyo, who is now coaching at Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood. Often, the arrival of a new coach and the teaching of a different system will necessitate a long learning process and a slow start as the players adjust, but senior captain Ben Monsma doesn’t see it that way.

"I had coach Kingsley my freshman year," explained the 6-foot-4 forward, who plans to attend Calvin College, a Christian school in Grand Rapids, Mich. "If I hadn't had him before, it might have been a little harder [adjusting]."

There is a difference in offensive approach, Monsma assured, but it is a palatable one. "It’s a lot easier," he continued. "There are not a lot of set plays. It’s a system offense. You really can’t mess up, and there’s always an open layup somewhere."

Arroyo’s team went 12-17 last year, but reached the state-sectional semifinals. Key players such as All-League selections Mark Kruis and Brian Fitzpatrick and honorable mention pick Mike Formicola graduated, leaving stout rebounder Monsma and sophomore guard Ron Kruis, Mark’s brother, as the lone returning starters. The younger Kruis was among the team’s top scorers last year as a freshman and is the most experienced varsity player on the roster.

"Jack Hansen has been out with a knee injury, but he should be back soon and probably will slide back into the starting lineup," Monsma said of the junior forward who played a lot of varsity ball last year.

Junior Isaiah Arnett is the newly-installed starter at shooting guard. He is joined by junior forward Ryan Coughlin, who played a lot last year, and junior guard Brian Roberts. Freshman guard James Kennedy also sees plenty of action. The Panthers have only two seniors on the team, Monsma and backup guard Tyler Bassallo.

Captain Monsma

Much of the leadership has fallen on the lone captain, but Monsma doesn’t mind. "I still get chills when I hear my name called in introductions as ‘senior captain Ben Monsma,’" he said with a laugh. "I like the way that sounds. But having guys who have played and are still around makes it easier."

The slow start can be blamed somewhat on a hectic season-opening schedule.

"The game we lost to Bogota was very close and very winnable," Monsma said of the result that left the team 1-3 prior to the Christmas break. "It was tough to play Waldwick on opening night, and then we had Pequannock the next day. And then we played Cresskill [three days later] on Tuesday the 18th. That’s a rough five-day span. We beat Pequannock by nine points, and we had hoped to even our record to 2-2 in the next game, but Bogota won that one."

The 47-38 win over Pequannock was one to admire. The Panthers trailed, 22-21, at halftime, but put together a 14-7 surge to open the second half and took control. Coughlin and Kruis each scored 18 points to earn the victory.

Kingsley, who served the last three years as the school's freshman coach, was upbeat as he spoke prior to the start of the Ridgefield Holiday Tournament. "We’re getting Jack Hansen back," he said enthusiastically. "He’s a 6-foot-4 center who was out with a dislocated knee cap from football season, and not having him really hurt us."

The somewhat revamped lineup for the holiday tournament figured to have Hansen back at center and Arnett as the new shooting guard as the team looked to turn things around.

The coach has high regard for his players and ran down the list with hope in his voice.

Sophomore standout

"Ron Kruis is our best player and one of the best in the league already as a sophomore," he said. "Ron is our mainstay. He’s an all-around talent and averages 10 points, at least."

"Ben Monsma is mostly a rebounder. He can shoot the three, but most of his scoring is inside."

"Ryan Coughlin is an excellent defender and shooter and was 10-for-10 from the foul line against Pequannock."

"Brian Roberts handles the ball well, is a good defender, and he drives to the hole well and distributes."

"Isaiah Arnett is very skilled and shoots the three."

"James Kennedy has been doing a tremendous job, stepping up as a freshman and shooting the three well."

Kingsley has added an extra member to his staff, his father, legendary former Paramus High School basketball and baseball coach and athletic director Bob Kingsley, has signed on as volunteer coach. That’s a good deal of experience that the new coach can tap into.

As he surveyed his team, the new coach said, "These juniors reached the second round of the Bergen County Freshman Tournament when they were freshmen, and our current group of freshmen is strong. We have a lot of pieces to put together on the varsity, and we had a very rough early schedule, playing some of the top teams in our league."

When Monsma played for Kingsley previously, their freshman team wasn’t overly successful. However, that was no reflection on the coach, he emphasized.

"We didn’t have a lot of talent on that team, but the classes that came up behind mine had a lot of talent, and I think we’ll be all right," he said. "Coach Kingsley is good for the program."

New coach, promising future for Midland Park team

MIDLAND PARK — A new coach, only two starters returning and one key player out with an injury. Those are ingredients that could leave a team destined for a slow start. That mixture might even provide a viable explanation for Midland Park's 1-3 start in boys basketball. But then again, maybe not.

Freshman coach Matt Kingsley was hired to replace Matt Arroyo, who is now coaching at Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood. Often, the arrival of a new coach and the teaching of a different system will necessitate a long learning process and a slow start as the players adjust, but senior captain Ben Monsma doesn’t see it that way.

"I had coach Kingsley my freshman year," explained the 6-foot-4 forward, who plans to attend Calvin College, a Christian school in Grand Rapids, Mich. "If I hadn't had him before, it might have been a little harder [adjusting]."

There is a difference in offensive approach, Monsma assured, but it is a palatable one. "It’s a lot easier," he continued. "There are not a lot of set plays. It’s a system offense. You really can’t mess up, and there’s always an open layup somewhere."

Arroyo’s team went 12-17 last year, but reached the state-sectional semifinals. Key players such as All-League selections Mark Kruis and Brian Fitzpatrick and honorable mention pick Mike Formicola graduated, leaving stout rebounder Monsma and sophomore guard Ron Kruis, Mark’s brother, as the lone returning starters. The younger Kruis was among the team’s top scorers last year as a freshman and is the most experienced varsity player on the roster.

"Jack Hansen has been out with a knee injury, but he should be back soon and probably will slide back into the starting lineup," Monsma said of the junior forward who played a lot of varsity ball last year.

Junior Isaiah Arnett is the newly-installed starter at shooting guard. He is joined by junior forward Ryan Coughlin, who played a lot last year, and junior guard Brian Roberts. Freshman guard James Kennedy also sees plenty of action. The Panthers have only two seniors on the team, Monsma and backup guard Tyler Bassallo.

Captain Monsma

Much of the leadership has fallen on the lone captain, but Monsma doesn’t mind. "I still get chills when I hear my name called in introductions as ‘senior captain Ben Monsma,’" he said with a laugh. "I like the way that sounds. But having guys who have played and are still around makes it easier."

The slow start can be blamed somewhat on a hectic season-opening schedule.

"The game we lost to Bogota was very close and very winnable," Monsma said of the result that left the team 1-3 prior to the Christmas break. "It was tough to play Waldwick on opening night, and then we had Pequannock the next day. And then we played Cresskill [three days later] on Tuesday the 18th. That’s a rough five-day span. We beat Pequannock by nine points, and we had hoped to even our record to 2-2 in the next game, but Bogota won that one."

The 47-38 win over Pequannock was one to admire. The Panthers trailed, 22-21, at halftime, but put together a 14-7 surge to open the second half and took control. Coughlin and Kruis each scored 18 points to earn the victory.

Kingsley, who served the last three years as the school's freshman coach, was upbeat as he spoke prior to the start of the Ridgefield Holiday Tournament. "We’re getting Jack Hansen back," he said enthusiastically. "He’s a 6-foot-4 center who was out with a dislocated knee cap from football season, and not having him really hurt us."

The somewhat revamped lineup for the holiday tournament figured to have Hansen back at center and Arnett as the new shooting guard as the team looked to turn things around.

The coach has high regard for his players and ran down the list with hope in his voice.

Sophomore standout

"Ron Kruis is our best player and one of the best in the league already as a sophomore," he said. "Ron is our mainstay. He’s an all-around talent and averages 10 points, at least."

"Ben Monsma is mostly a rebounder. He can shoot the three, but most of his scoring is inside."

"Ryan Coughlin is an excellent defender and shooter and was 10-for-10 from the foul line against Pequannock."

"Brian Roberts handles the ball well, is a good defender, and he drives to the hole well and distributes."